What an exciting week – unless you’re a dealmaker.
Heading into Friday morning, nothing of great significance had happened all week.
New M&A – after a flurry – was on hold. Coca-Cola European Partners firmed up its offer for Coca-Cola Amatil, but that was never in doubt. There were no equity raisings worth more than $50 million, and the big IPOs all found reasons to delay plans until next week.
With the US election out of the way (maybe, kind of, hopefully), deals are expected to pick up again next week. It’ll be busier in the land of $500 million-plus IPOs, if nothing else.
The time has come for bidders interested in Lion's up-for-sale dairy and drinks division to put a firm number on how serious their buying intentions are.